Painted Canyon Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
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- Start point: Carlton Canyon Trailhead
- Ending point: Carlton Canyon-Painted Canyon Confluence
- Hike type: Loop
- Distance: 9.4 miles
- Elevation gain: 1145 feet
- High point: 4,365 feet
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Seasons: All year, except after heavy rain/snow
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: Yes, but bring all your own water
- Crowded: No
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Hike Description
This off-trail loop down Carlton Canyon and up Painted Canyon, even though only nine miles with middling elevation gain, is rated difficult for a reason. While there are user paths in stretches, they intersect with distracting cow and mustang paths. It’s entirely possible you could turn up the wrong canyon at some point and become disoriented. There are several dry waterfall scrambles in both canyons. Wear proper clothing (boots, long pants, good hat) and bring plenty of water (two liters per person). Don’t come here when it’s wet or when thunderstorms are predicted because of the danger of flash flooding.
That said, this is one of the best day hikes in Owyhee country. Spring is a good time (mild temperatures and wildflowers), while fall also brings cooler temperatures and a very low chance of precipitation. The descent/ascent of Carlton and Painted canyons can be divided into the same three segments: (1) an upper canyon of rolling sagebrush/bunchgrass hills; (2) a shorter central section where the canyon steps down rapidly in a series of dry waterfalls that need to be climbed or detoured; (3) a lower section of towering rhyolite formations and honeycombs (pockmarked chemical weathering of the rhyolite also known as tafoni).
Begin hiking south on the road where you’re parked along shallow slopes of sagebrush and rabbitbrush. Death-camas, lupine, and phlox bloom here in the spring. After about 300 yards, you’ll notice a broad grassy depression to your right, the head of Carlton Canyon. Start following the bottom of this draw, using cattle trails when you can. After crossing a fence line, you’ll pass a blue plastic water tub. Keep heading down the bottom of the draw: don’t get distracted by the cow paths heading out of it. When you reach a rocky defile, you’ll see a cave up to the left. A major branch of Carlton Canyon comes in from the left. A well-defined trail now follows the left side of the draw, and the rhyolite ridgeline of the Carlton Palisades appears ahead of you. The draw passes across a broad grassy flat, by the end of which you’ll be about halfway down Carlton Canyon.
The route passes below honeycombed rocks, and you’ll get better views of the Carlton Palisades. When you reach the bottom of the palisade ridge, you’ll begin your dry waterfall scrambles. You can manage the first drop, but then you’ll need to veer right and stay high to detour around the next one. After making a gradual traverse down, stay right at the next drop, then left at the one after that. Spring blooms here include balsamroot, paintbrush, bitterbrush, and Oregon sunshine. It’s a right-hand detour under an overhang at the next waterfall, then a scramble up to the left. Traverse down, getting views to the bright rhyolite wall of a side canyon. You’ll begin to notice the dung piles of wild horses. There’s a colorful rhyolite bowl to the right. Pass through the “gate” to upper Carlton Canyon, with a colorful column to the left and a rooster comb to the right. The sandy path reaches the confluence with Painted Canyon, where you should go right to complete the loop.
The bottom of Painted Canyon is initially a sagebrush flat with sheer-walled buttresses above. Sloping honeycombed faces appear, and a large pyramid seems stuck in the middle of the canyon. The trail cuts across the winding wash. You’ll pass below bright vertical walls of rhyolite as you follow the sandy bed. The route swings right, with a sagebrush slope easing down to the canyon floor. The gully narrows, and you’ll come to the lowest dry waterfall. In this section, it's the lilac, red, and green-tinged rocks that give Painted Canyon its name. At the next blockade, head left, and then hook around between two boulders to make a steep sliding scramble to the right. Take the next drop to the left before heaving yourself up another face and finding a pathway on the left.
In the upper canyon, slopes of sagebrush, bitterbrush, and bunchgrass descend to the wash. A dark brown band of rock straddles the middle of the draw. You can head up to the left around this (there actually used to be a small reservoir here), and then look to your right for an obvious cow trail that heads up the slope. This leads in short order to the end of a vehicle track. Go left to follow this jeep trail 1 ½ miles over a ridge and down to the water trough.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Best times are spring and fall
- Don’t hike (or drive) if there have been heavy rains
- Come prepared: wide brim hat, sunscreen, long pants, proper hiking boots, two liters of water with electrolytes, compass/GPS
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series: Malheur River Country
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Painted Canyon Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Painted Canyon Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- The Owyhee Canyonlands: An Outdoor Adventure Guide by Steve Stuebner & Mark Lisk (other options described)
- Backpacking Oregon by Douglas Lorain; revised by Becky Ohlsen (describes Honeycombs Loop)
- Oregon Desert Guide: 70 Hikes by Andy Kerr
More Links
- Painted Canyon Loop (Oregon Natural Desert Association)
- Painted Canyon Loop (Owyhee Canyonlands)
- Hiking Painted Canyon (Owyhee Canyonlands)
- Painted Canyon Loop Trail (All Trails)
- Honeycombs Loop (Richard Hikes)
- A Hiker’s Guide to the Owyhee Canyonlands (Travel Oregon)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)